


Blood at Twilight, Tears by Dawn

by sorasan0000



Series: Dawn/Dusk Oneshots [1]
Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Drabble Collection, F/M, Gen, Genderbending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-24
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2019-04-27 02:53:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14416128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sorasan0000/pseuds/sorasan0000
Summary: After finding out how her father was killed, Suwon briefly prepares for her uncle to permanently silence her. She is, however, dismissed with nothing short of a warning and jab shot: Hak, the boy Suwon regards in the highest esteem, is now Il's Wind General and Princess Yona's bodyguard.





	Blood at Twilight, Tears by Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> This is a designated short story collection for any oneshots I create for pre-coup events in the /Joy in Dawn and Dusk/ setting. More characters will pop up, and perhaps more warnings as well.

“A summons from my uncle?”

“Yes, Lord Suwon.”

Suwon hesitated to move. She went through possible reasons for this sudden summons, and her disposal topped at number one. During her last visit, she had figured out the truth. All her vigorous searching had turned to her uncle, King Il. He had gotten her father so drunk that running him through with his own sword could easily be covered up with the mighty Yuhon falling upon his own blade. Her uncle held nothing back in telling her the truth.

 _“He would have led this country to ruin_ ,” he had said. Did the fool not realize the irony? The Kai Empire was falling apart, growing more and more unstable, with nobles infiltrating the economies of the coasts. Kan Sujin to the east was rumored to be allocating the Fire Tribe’s resources towards the military in excess, and he didn’t think that was worth looking into as the king?  

It infuriated her. It disgusted her. Seeing him bear all as if he had nothing to worry about from her. However, this summons could be the follow-up to that. She began shaking out of anger and fear. She stood and requested Keishuk to give her some paper to write on. If this was her uncle’s way of silencing her, she needed to leave a message behind. No, several messages. One for her mother, her doctor, Mr.Ogi, and for Hak.

“Keishuk, should I not return within a week, I need you to make sure these are delivered,” she said with emphasis on the time frame, handing all but the letter for Ogi to him. As she excused herself from the room to prepare for departure, she watched the tree blossoms outside fall with the breeze. She took a deep breath and stood tall, walking with determination etched across her face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The smell of liquor was nothing new or strange to her at this point. She was greeted by the usual people with the usual offers of food or drink, to which she happily took up with the food. She insisted on stopping at Ogi’s pub as soon as she arrived in Kuuto, and she was afraid that if she was fed anything at the castle, it would be her death. As she paid for the meal, she looked around for the man whom she came to see. He sat in the corner, and he appeared to be absorbed in reading a document.

“Do you need to talk to Ogi about something?” one of the men asked.

Suwon looked at Ogi for a few seconds more before deciding that he was too busy to acknowledge her presence. She shook her head and smiled, handing the man the sealed letter. “If I don’t come back within a week, can you give this piece of information to him?”

The man seemed surprised that she wasn’t there to do business like always, and she would have loved to stay. However, she didn’t know who was watching, and she didn’t want to place them all in any more danger if it was possible. As she left and opened the door, she didn’t see Ogi’s eye on her, watching with an eyebrow lifted.

“That was weird…” the man with the letter trailed off.

“What’s it say?” Ogi asked.

“Won said we have to wait a week.”

“Hmph, I have no money right now anyway,” Ogi said and shrugged as he went back to reading the latest on the various tribes’ developments. “That King Il is an odd one indeed. What king does that to a general…?”

~~~~~~~~~

Suwon stood in front of the entrance gates to Hiryuu Castle. The guards stood by, greeting her and remaining in position. They didn’t seem hostile towards her, which was the first sign of relief. She opened the gates and saw the usual scene: servants walking back and forth with paperwork, laundry, and food for the higher-ranking officials. Guards were stationed at every hallway entrance, and with each one acknowledging her there didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary. She didn’t feel any hostility but she still kept herself alert.

WHOMP!

Suwon jumped and froze as a smaller figure ran into her from around the corner. Her breathing stopped and her mind filled with the sound of ringing. She looked down, her eyes meeting bright, beautiful violet ones with red bangs curled around them. The smaller one smiled at first but then looked worried.

“Suwon, are you all right?” she asked.

Suwon exhaled and forced a smile. “Yes, you just took me by surprise…Princess Yona.”

Yona gasped playfully. “’Princess?’ Since when have you been so formal?”

Suwon bit her tongue, realizing that she was already blowing her cover. She hated this. Yona did nothing wrong. It was her father. However, wasn’t she benefitting from all of this? Being in the dark and getting to live this life? No, that wasn’t it. This wasn’t benefitting her at all. If anything, the danger was starting to close in on her. Didn’t King Il understand? If he chose this path in order to protect Yona, why would he be so careless?

“Why don’t you come have some peach juice with me?” Yona softly offered. She held Suwon’s hand firmly and gave her another worried look. Suwon lowered her head and heaved a sigh. Of course she couldn’t bring Yona into it, nor could she blame her. She was only 13-years old and her father had never let her be exposed to matters of the outside world. Rumor had it that he wasn’t even putting the option of political education in front of her.

“Hey, Lord Suwon!”

Suwon’s heart skipped a beat as she was addressed from behind and looked back in surprise. It was Hak, dressed in something completely new. He wasn’t wearing the decorative feature piece on his head. She could suddenly see his face all too clearly and she softly laughed, her cheeks feeling a tinge of heat.

“’Lord’? Since when have you been so formal?” Suwon said with a smile, copying Yona almost word-for-word regarding this new formality.

Hak frowned and shrugged. “I’m just addressing you like I always should have. Excuse my previous insolence,” he said as he bowed his head.

Suwon’s smile faded. Aside from this sudden attitude change, there seemed to be something more. She hadn’t heard about a Five General meeting being held before coming. Was it an emergency? Had everyone been called to expose her as a threat? Surely Mundok wouldn’t let anything move forward, would he? She wanted to ask, but she was cut off when King Il came into sight behind them.

“Ah, Suwon, you’ve finally arrived,” he said with a bubbly tone.

Suwon stood her ground, showing him that she wasn’t falling for her facade, giving him a subtle glare.

“I’m sorry Yona, General Hak, but Suwon is actually here on business for me.”

Wait. General Hak? Suwon’s eyes widened.

“Also, Hak, you are now _Yona’s_ exclusive bodyguard. I best not catch you too far away from her. Remember that, now.” He said this as he looked straight at Suwon with his own look of hidden malice. He motioned for her to follow him.

“Suwon, come find us when you’re done! I still want to drink that peach juice with you!” Yona hollered. Suwon, however, didn’t absorb it. She couldn’t feel anything but the feeling of her own sinking chest, and all she could hear were the words that King Il had said.

_General… Yona’s exclusive bodyguard…_

~~~~~~~~~

She stood motionless, waiting for her uncle to say something as he paced back and forth in his office. He stopped, looked at her, smiled at her, and shrugged. “I finally managed to gain Hak’s loyalty. I think you’ll find it really difficult to win him over should you be planning anything after our discussion last time.”

Suwon refused to waver. She glared him down, keeping her eyes peeled on him as he began pacing again. She hadn’t even started planning her move against him, what with trying to sort out her new predicament, and yet he was already this far ahead. It turned out that he wasn’t underestimating her like she thought he was after all.

“Tell me, King Il,” she began, “what use is a general if he is not within his tribe governing it? Are you mocking this country’s tradition? Who is ruling the Wind Tribe now?”

“Former General Mundok is continuing his governing duties until Hak is fully knowledgeable about governing. It will take time for a proper transition. He’s only 15-years old after al-“

“How is he supposed to do that if he’s also Yona’s exclusive bodyguard?” Suwon snapped back.

“Like I said, it will take time,” Il reaffirmed calmly. “Hak is a very talented young man, and I’m sure he can juggle the two duties just fine. You would know that.”

Suwon’s glare deepened. Of course she knew. Hak was the strongest, smartest, and most capable person she knew. She aspired to measure up to him in every way. She felt that even if her relationship with Yona ended up turning sour with time, Hak would be her constant. He would be there. Perhaps one day she could confide in him, bear everything to him, perhaps even…

Her vision became blurry and she closed her eyes tightly. She lowered her head and stiffened her shoulders, biting her bottom lip. She heard her uncle sigh and walk toward her. She didn’t dare look up. She couldn’t show him this disgraced, defeated look. He hugged her, telling her to rest a bit before going back home. He left her there alone, and as she heard his footsteps fade away she clenched her fists and brought them to her face. She fell to her knees and curled over on the floor, silently screaming as the tears fell free to the floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Lord Suwon, thank goodness you’ve returned!” Min-su shouted as he ran down the hallway. It had nearly been a week since she first departed, the affirmed period of time that she allotted to pass before handing the letters out. She became alert as Min-su told her that her mother’s condition had taken a turn for the worse. She hastened to her mother’s chambers, where her doctor stood outside.

“Lord Suwon, please come inside,” she insisted.

Peering in and closing the doors, Suwon saw the site of her mother sleeping. She looked even thinner than she did the week before. Her eyes were swollen and red. She looked over to her doctor with concern.

“Lord Suwon, is it true?”

Suwon raised an eyebrow before she felt a knot in her stomach.

“Did His Majesty King Il really do that to Lord Yuhon?” the doctor asked with a crack in her voice.

Suwon’s knot curled and twisted. So, in the end, she couldn’t even trust Keishuk. Five days, that’s all it had been.

“Yes. Confirmed by King Il himself. He tried kidnapping Yona because she was some kind of ‘threat’, and of course,” she paused, “he would have led this country to ruin.”

The doctor shook her head in near disbelief. “Your mother didn’t take the revelation well. She’s been sleeping off and on for the past two days, crying each time she wakes up. Her spirit has clearly been hurt.”

Suwon brushed a strand of hair from her mother’s face, feeling the stiffness from the dried tears. Her vision blurred once again and she clenched the hems of her sleeves. She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder and a warmth enclose her. She allowed herself to rest against the doctor, ever so assuring that not everything was cold and empty.

“She was most worried about you. She thought she would never see you again. She’ll surely be overjoyed to see you here,” the doctor assured.

“Does Min-su know?” Suwon whispered.

The doctor shook her head.

“If I may have your permission,” Suwon paused and hesitated before continuing, “I would like to introduce him to the courts of Hiryuu Castle.”

The doctor’s breathing paused. Suwon knew she had just asked too much of her. She was essentially asking to use her son as a spy. Perhaps even an unwilling one. He was only 14-years old. Too young.

Too young…

Not much younger than herself.

“If you promise he will not die,” she finally said after pulling away and showing her back to Suwon.

Suwon had work to do. She needed to figure out a plan to come out with as few casualties as possible. She had a promise to keep to the doctor. However, first she needed to track down Keishuk. As soon as it hit her that he may have sent the letter addressed to Hak, she panicked.

No, anything but that.

She remembered his soft eyes, his small smile, his big laughs…all around Yona. It was clear that the appointment had brought them closer. She knew. She had always been watching, after all. She had seen his gazes on her, his softly tinted cheeks as she grew and basked in the sun, knew that if she asked then he would be hers…it was only a matter of time in the end.

_Hak,_

_I know this is sudden, but if you read this it likely means I’ve been disposed of. Hak, please believe me when I say that you need to be careful. Something is happening in this country, and King Il is spearheading it. He wouldn’t tell me, but I have a really bad feeling. He killed my father and now he has killed me. Don’t be rash. Protect Yona. Don’t let this country fall._

_I love you._

_~~~~~~~~~~_

“Ah yes, this letter?” Keishuk taunted as he waved the parchment in the air. He hurled it into the air for Suwon to catch. He folded his arms and sneered. “That kind of letter wouldn’t have been fair to read, if you want my opinion.”

Suwon carefully rolled the letter and slipped it underneath her garments. The relief that washed over her knowing that Hak wouldn’t receive such an alarming and open letter was soon subdued by the new doubt she felt about her surroundings. Keishuk, a man 7 years her senior, had gone against her orders and had exposed everything prematurely. As she thought about how to begin her own plan, she needed to find out what he had in mind first.

“Become the king, Lord Suwon,” he suggested. “With you in power, your father’s legacy can be resurrected. Kin, the territories of Xing, the revitalization of our country’s strength, think about it all,” he trailed off.

Suwon recalled the announcements as they came right after the other. Kin, a land that she once called her home: surrendered. Xing: given back the spoils Kouka had won. The army: lacking in new numbers. Perhaps most importantly, the five tribes: fragmented even within themselves. With Kai looming over their heads, she felt a sense of urgency. In three, five, ten years’ time, things would come to a head. It could even come as early as a year.

“You can’t expect, well…those _friends_ of yours to be safe with King Il in power for very long, am I right?” Keishuk had caught on.

_“Suwon, come find us when you’re done! I still want to drink that peach juice with you!”_

Their smiling faces flashed before her mind, and her heart sank.

In three, five, ten years’ time. She could never let it happen. She crossed fingers that luck would be on her side. Please, she pleaded, give me time.

She stood tall and nodded. She didn’t completely trust Keishuk’s actions, but he always had more objective advice. “For my father and for this country,” she clearly spoke, “I will become this country’s king.”


End file.
